


As It Fell Upon a Day

by Mara



Series: Garo [4]
Category: GARO: Makai Senki
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 18:39:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12612904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/pseuds/Mara
Summary: A busy day in the life of Kouga, Rei, Kaoru, and Leo.





	As It Fell Upon a Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be pure curtainfic with zero feels. Um…yeah. Anyway, it contains big ol' spoilers for Makai Senki.
> 
> (Spoilery note: I'm just assuming that the Saejima mansion has been rebuilt via magic and wishing really hard and…whatever.)

Despite his claims to not have worried, Rei did occasionally find himself glancing over at Kouga to reassure himself the other knight was there, returned safely from the Promised Land. But once they were engaged in battle with Horrors, they worked together just as well as they always had, ducking and dodging and weaving in a dance of destruction for the Horrors.

It was almost as good as sex, Rei thought in the very back of his brain. Complete trust and being so in tune that they always knew how the other would move, always knew just where to be to protect an unprotected side.

It had been three weeks since the defeat of Sigma and since Kouga completed his mission for Gajari, but somehow the relief of being alive hadn't worn off yet.

They were hardly sweating when they released their armor, but when Rei turned toward Kouga, he felt himself heat up at the look on the other man's face. It was an expression that meant someone was about to get fucked into a mattress very soon.

Rei grinned. He could hardly wait.

* * *

As the sun rose over their rebuilt home, Kouga left Rei in the bed, half-dozing and thoroughly relaxed. Part of him wanted to stay in bed with Rei, but he knew Leo would be arriving shortly. Tempting as it was to drag him up to the bedroom and repeat the activities he'd just engaged in with Rei, he had promised to help Leo look through the Saejima family records for a particular spell of his mother's.

Gonza had already dug out what he could find of the boxes and books most likely to contain the information and Kouga settled into his chair and surveyed the piles with mild dismay. Well, it was to make Leo happy, so it was worth it.

When the door to the library opened, Kouga looked up. Leo paused in the doorway, much more like the shy boy he'd been months ago, instead of the confident partner he'd become before Sigma.

Or not before Sigma, Kouga thought. Sigma had gotten his hooks into their lover during childhood and the damage was deeper than they'd known. "Come in," he said, trying not to sound irritated at the hesitation.

"Good morning," Leo said, looking around and appearing almost as dismayed at Kouga felt as he surveyed the room's contents.

"I wish I'd sorted this material years ago." Kouga waved a hand at a stack of books on the corner of his desk. "Start with one of these journals. They seem most likely to have spell details."

Nodding, Leo picked up the next journal in the stack and settled into the chair on the other side of the desk.

Kouga frowned down at the journal he'd been studying, annoyed when he realized he should have chosen the parlor instead and made Leo sit on the couch with him. Rei or Kaoru would simply have demanded he move to another room or sat in his lap or put a cushion on the floor, but Leo had been too undemanding even _before_ his brother's betrayal.

With a sigh, Kouga went back to reading. It was going to take time to undo the damage done to Leo. Eventually, Leo would understand that they didn't blame him for his brother's actions. And eventually he would stop blaming himself.

For right now, Kouga would help him find what he was looking for. And when they had searched long enough, he would take Leo into the training room and run him ragged for a while. He depended too much on his magic and didn't spend enough time keeping his fighting reflexes up to par.

Besides, Kouga thought with some amusement, it was always enjoyable to watch him use his sword.

* * *

A few hours later, Kaoru caught Leo coming down the stairs, freshly showered. "Gonza said you haven't eaten lunch yet, so we're having a picnic."

"A picnic?" Leo asked, looking puzzled.

Kaoru paused. "Er, you do know what a picnic is?"

He chuckled. "Yes. I was just unsure…"

Kaoru wasn't interested in the end of that sentence, which would most likely irritate her. "You and me. Gonza's lunch. Outside in the beautiful weather, which you've hardly seen because you've been holed up in the library."

Leo opened his mouth, presumably to argue with her on some point.

"Let's go," she said, picking up the basket from the floor and grabbing his hand to lead him out the back door. "There's a lovely spot I found not too far over the hill."

"Okay," he said dubiously.

She didn't loosen her grip on his hand until they were among the trees, convinced he would try to escape. But he only took the opportunity to switch to a more comfortable grip and squeeze gently.

She smiled up at him, pretending she couldn't see the way he bit his lip and looked away.

The spot she'd chosen was one of her favorites, overlooking a pond, with a perfectly placed fallen tree to lean against as they ate. Kaoru cuddled against his side, enjoying the way his arm automatically went around her shoulders. 

Eating one-handed, she didn't try to make him talk, just listened to the birds and insects and Leo's heartbeat under her ear. Each thump was a sign that he had survived the battle with his brother and returned, safe if not entirely sound.

Which was why they were there, of course. Not that she ever objected to a romantic picnic with any of them, but Leo had been avoiding conversation on the one subject that clearly filled his mind.

She really wasn't sure how to go about this, so… "What's bothering you?" she asked finally.

To his credit, he didn't flinch and he didn't try to pretend he didn't know what she was talking about. "Sigma," he said simply.

She listened to his heartbeat, which had sped up. "I don't blame you for not telling us about him earlier."

"What if I blame myself?" he said, his voice barely loud enough to be heard over the bush warbler that had taken up residence over their heads.

Kaoru sighed. "You're too hard on yourself. But we've told you that before."

"I don—"

"I hope you weren't about to say you don't deserve us."

Leo didn't say anything.

Rubbing her cheek gently against his chest, she tried to figure out what to say. "Everyone knows you risked your life to stop him. Have Rei or Kouga said they blame you for him?"

"No."

"It's over. We're all just grateful to all be alive."

Leo's arm spasmed around her. "That…I don't…"

"I know. If he'd killed any of you…" Shivering, she let him pull her closer. The thought of burying Kouga or Rei or Leo or all of them had caused more than one nightmare in recent days.

"I wanted to save him. I thought I could." His voice rang with unusual bitterness.

"Of course you did…he was your twin. If you'd been willing to kill him immediately, you wouldn't be you and we wouldn't love you nearly as much as we do." Twisting, Kaoru shifted onto her knees so she could look at him. "I'd have tried to help you if I'd known."

Leo met her eyes and she hoped he could see the sincerity in them. Slowly, he smiled at her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Leaning forward, she kissed him gently. "When you're ready, we'll talk more about this, okay?"

He nodded.

"For now, though, we should be getting back."

"Hmm?"

"I've been promising Rei to introduce him to a new pastry shop in town."

With a chuckle, Leo kissed her again and started packing away the picnic. "I would never get between Rei and a dessert."

"You'll be here for dinner?" Kaoru paused. "It's been…we haven't all been home in so long."

Leo paused, looking away. "I know. I—"

"It's okay," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm just asking."

"Yes. I'll be here tonight. Barring an emergency, I think I can stay for a few nights."

Kaoru flung her arms around a startled Leo. "I'm glad," she mumbled into his shoulder.

* * *

Rei was leaning against his motorcycle in front of the mansion when Kaoru dashed through the door. He looked quite unfairly sexy, she thought. And then he grinned and tossed her a helmet, which she managed to catch.

"Let's go," he said before helping her up behind him.

Wrapping her arms around his chest, she leaned against his back, the familiar and indescribable smell of his coat a comfort to her.

The new pastry shop was only half-full and they settled into a booth in the back corner, where Rei ordered his usual spread of desserts. Kaoru sighed, briefly wishing for his metabolism, then ordered one slice of Linzer torte.

"Gonza said you and Leo were picnicking," Rei said as they waited.

"I needed to talk to him."

Rei raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look. He's been avoiding talking about Sigma. Everyone's been avoiding dealing with what happened."

"Mmm."

She scowled at him. "Well, I'm tired of everyone pretending to be fine. You know how much that annoys me."

"I do," Rei grinned at her, then leaned back in his seat, hands clasped behind his head. "I don't think we're pretending to be fine this time. It's complicated because of…the layers."

Kaoru was about to respond, but their desserts arrived and they engaged in the usual shuffle to get everything to fit on the table. Fork hovering over her torte, she looked at Rei, his hair drifting over his eyes as he considered the possibilities.

"The layers," she prompted after he'd finished a strawberry cream puff.

He looked at her through the curtain of hair and at some point, it might have intimidated her, but she just looked at him in return. With a sigh, Rei said, "The layers of lies of omission."

Ah. She ate another piece of torte. "I've already yelled at Leo for not telling us about Sigma. And I've already yelled at all of you for not telling me about the mark of oblivion."

Nodding, he started on a napoleon. "We _all_ yelled at Leo for failing to tell us about Sigma. If that was the answer, everything would be fine. But we're all feeling some guilt."

"Even you?" She intended to make it a joke, but it didn't quite make it. "I'm sorry, that didn't come out right."

His smile was half-hearted. "I wasn't able to save Kouga from Gajari's mission and I wasn't there for the final battle," he said softly.

"Oh, Rei…" She reached across the table and took the hand that didn't have a fork in it. 

"Layers, you see?"

"I do see." She sighed. They were all guilty of forgetting how deeply Rei felt everything, how much of his carefree lighthearted persona was just a mask. "You do realize that if you'd gone to the Promised Land in Kouga's place, I'd be having this conversation with him instead, don't you? It would have nearly killed him to watch you go. And you couldn't have known that Sigma had returned to attack us."

Rei's lips quirked and he ate some of the napoleon. 

Kaoru let go of his hand and went back to her torte. "Do you blame Leo for what his brother did?" she asked when her dessert was almost gone.

Head whipping up, Rei glared at her. "No!"

"Do you blame Kouga for not defeating Sigma in the beginning?"

"Of course not!" He placed his fork down with deliberate care that implied he was more interested in sticking it through her hand.

"And if they were sitting here, would you be telling them not to blame themselves?"

Crossing his arms, Rei snorted and looked away.

Kaoru finished her torte and wiped her mouth, pulling a lipstick out of her bag to touch up. "So if we're agreed that your crimes are no worse than theirs, can I tell you not to blame yourself?" She closed her purse and looked at him.

"Damn it," he said quietly.

"Is that a yes?"

Rei sighed. "Yes."

Kaoru leaned forward. "I love you. Kouga and Leo love you. What happened was awful, but the people and things that caused it are dead." She shuddered. "At least, Sigma had _better_ be dead this time."

"He is."

"Good." She smiled at him. "So it's time for everyone to stop blaming themselves for everything."

Rei shook his head, starting to chuckle. "Fine, sweetheart," he said.

She rolled her eyes, gathering up her purse. Standing, she stepped around the table so she could lean over and give him a kiss. "I'm going to run by my editor's office. I'll be back later."

He called before she'd gone more than two steps. "Kaoru!"

"Hmm?" She turned.

"Thank you. And I love you too."

She felt her face flush a bit in pleasure and she smiled back at him. "I'll see you later."

* * *

Rei hadn't made it much past the front door of the mansion before he was backed up against said door and kissed senseless. Of course, sex with Leo was always a worthwhile experience, Rei thought, but what was unusual was the other man being the one to initiate and dominate.

Not that it was bad. In fact, as Leo nipped his way down Rei's throat, Rei decided he could really get to like being waylaid and seduced by Leo. Running his hands up Leo's sides, he said, "We could take this to the bedroom."

The other man didn't reply, just grabbed his hand and almost dragged him up the steps. Rei laughed as he flung his arms around Leo and kissed him against the railing for a moment to slow him down.

Good thing he recovered quickly, Rei thought as Leo clambered on top of him once they'd reached the bed. Otherwise he would be horribly sore in the morning. Happily, he suspected he was going to feel _very_ good.

They tossed their clothing every which way and Leo continued his assault on Rei's neck and chest. Moaning, Rei lay back and let himself get swept away for the second time. What a good day this was turning out to be.

Leo had three fingers in him within a few moments and he smiled into Rei's thigh as he found him loose and slippery. "Kouga."

"Kouga," Rei agreed. "But don't let that stop you."

"I won't."

He didn't. 

"Not that I'm complaining," Rei said into Leo's ear where he was collapsed across Rei's chest some sweaty time later, "but I'm curious what brought that on. And how I can encourage it to happen again."

Leo wasn't raising his head, which probably meant he was embarrassed. "I…I went on a picnic with Kaoru."

Rei squinted at the ceiling, running his hands through Leo's hair as he tried to work through that one. "I know. So you picnicked with Kaoru, who you could have taken to bed immediately, and who loves rough sex much more than her sweet and innocent appearance would make you think."

"Yes."

Rei waited for further explanation.

"We talked. About Sigma."

It was like pulling teeth. Rei pondered the few words he'd been given. So Leo was agitated by the conversation, but he didn't want Kaoru to bear the brunt of it even though she wouldn't have minded at all. Rei smiled down at the top of his head. "I see. Did she reassure you that she doesn't blame you for what happened?"

Leo nodded, lips brushing against Rei's chest. "I don't…how can everyone…"

"Because you're not responsible for Sigma's actions. And you're not the only one feeling guilty."

Leo's hand tightened on his arm. "What?"

"Our sweet Kaoru has clearly got an agenda for the day, because I had a talk with her as well. We all feel guilty about what happened." Rei sighed, staring at the ceiling. "I pulled a sword on you the day we learned about Sigma. That was…" He shook his head, not finding the right words. "And I wasn't there to help the three of you at the end."

"But you—"

"I know." Rei chuckled softly. "Kaoru already lectured me. I'll get over it."

Leo didn't respond, so Rei just stroked his back and held onto him, wondering idly what Kaoru was going to say to Kouga.

* * *

Kouga had planned to sit in the garden and read, but he paused when he found Kaoru already seated at the table with her sketchbook. "You don't need to run away," she said, glancing up at him.

"I wasn't going to," he said, trying not to sound like a sulky child as he walked down the stone steps.

Smiling, she gestured to the other chair. "Please sit with me."

Warily, he sat and waited for her to get on with whatever she had planned. "Everyone has been too careful and polite around each other," she said firmly.

He raised an eyebrow.

"We've been tiptoeing around, feeling guilty, sure that everyone else blames us for what happened."

Kouga considered that for a few moments, looking at the woods, then looking back at Kaoru. "What do you feel guilty about?"

She stared at him, eyes wide. 

"If you meant Rei, Leo, and myself, you would have said so. But you specifically said 'we'."¬

"I don't…"

"Really?"

"You're trying to change the subject, Kouga." She closed her sketchbook with a small bang. 

"No."

She wouldn't meet his eyes and she was clenching her hands together.

"You've talked to both Leo and Rei, haven't you?"

Slowly, she nodded. 

"You told them to stop blaming themselves."

She nodded again.

"Then I will tell you the same. Whatever you're feeling guilty about…stop."

Hands clenched by her side, Kaoru scowled at him. "But it's different. It's not what I did, but what I am."

Kouga waited.

"It's…what I said to everyone, just before we came to find you. I knew I didn't have the power to save you. I just wanted to see you again. I'm not like the rest of you. I'm not brave and strong and powerful."

Kouga blinked at the sudden onslaught of words. It was as if a dam had broken.

She gasped in a breath. "All I'm good for is being held hostage by people like Sigma."

"That's untrue," he snapped.

"But I—"

"Why did Rekka bring you into Ganon? Why did Jabi and Rei and Leo agree to it?"

"To talk to you," Kaoru said slowly. "Because you would want to protect me and it would wake you up."

Sighing, Kouga tried to find the words. Unfortunately, words weren't exactly his strongest skill. "No, that's not it."

"It's not?" She stared at him, looking confused.

"I didn't return because I wanted to protect you, although I do." He smiled. "When you showed me the book, I could feel your heart."

"My…heart?"

Kouga looked down at the table, wishing for a Horror he could kick instead of this. "Rei told me he'd called you our light. But you're not just what we protect, you're more. Your strength is inside you. I felt…I felt you telling me not to give up."

"Oh." Her voice was very small.

"Your heart spoke to mine. Through you, I could feel Rei and Leo, but I doubt they could have done it without you." Leaning forward, he made sure to catch her eye. "Only you could have opened your heart and called to me in that way."

Blinking, she appeared speechless. 

"And besides, what have you been doing today except trying to help all of us?"

"Oh, _Kouga_." Kaoru rubbed away the tears that were threatening to fall.

* * *

When Leo arrived in the parlor, Gonza informed him that dinner would be in half an hour and once the others had arrived, they weren't allowed to leave, because he was tired of having to herd everyone like cattle. So Leo settled onto the couch with one of Kouga's mother's books; not one likely to contain the spell they'd been searching for, but a volume of essays he'd never read, on the ethics of the use of Horror material to make tools and armor.

Before he could do more than open the book, Rei had strode in and flung himself down across the couch, his head in Leo's lap. "You're partially responsible for wearing me out, so suffer the consequences."

Leo grinned down at him. "Yes, I'm suffering."

Closing his eyes, Rei wiggled himself into comfortable position and yawned. "Wake me when it's time for dinner."

Leo shook his head in amusement and shifted the book off to the side so dust from the elderly volume wouldn't fall onto Rei's face. He was halfway through the first essay and frowning at some particularly terrible prose when Kouga entered, followed by Kaoru.

Kouga raised an eyebrow at the title of the book, smirked at Rei's tiny snores, and sat in his chair, drawing Kaoru onto his lap. She squeaked adorably as she tumbled across Kouga's legs and Leo couldn't help but smile at the picture they made.

Murmuring in his sleep, Rei shifted and Leo looked down at him. The idea that both Rei and Kouga trusted him enough to sleep so easily in front of him was still…

Leo blinked and looked at Kouga. 

Kouga studied him. "Ah, you understand."

Leo nodded slowly. They still trusted him. Even after everything.

Kaoru smiled from the circle of Kouga's arms. "And I still love all of you, even though you kept secrets from me."

Squeezing her, Kouga said softly, "And we love you as you are."

Maybe…maybe it really was going to be okay, Leo thought. Maybe she was right and it was time to stop blaming himself.

"Stop thinking so loudly," Rei mumbled. "It's disturbing my nap."

Leo couldn't help laughing. Grinning, Rei turned so he could bury his face against Leo's stomach, his warm breath a comfort.

"We're all here and safe," Rei said, yawning.

"That's what's important," Leo said. "We survived."

"We survived together," Kaoru said. "And we have each other to lean on."

"And dinner is ready," Gonza said from the doorway.

Rei and Leo started laughing so hard, they nearly fell off the couch. Kaoru took that as an invitation to try and tickle them, while Kouga looked on in amusement.

At which point Gonza sighed, mentally adding another 15 minutes until his charges would make it to the dinner table.

\--end--


End file.
